TEAM
Norris Lozano
Chief Executive Officer & President
Urban Development & Finance, LLC
As Chief Executive Office of Urban Development & Finance, LLC, Norris Lozano is responsible for urban real estate development and finance through the identification and generation of transactions, resources, funds and revenue sources for use in carrying out the mission and goals of the Urban Group of Companies in developing and operating multi-family and mixed-use real estate projects.
Mr. Lozano has a broad real estate acquisition, development, finance, business, and legal background with more than 25 years experience in development, commercial real estate and tax law, large commercial lending transactions, business financing, and banking law.
In the last four years, Mr. Lozano has, as CEO, created and built two companies from the ground up: United Fund Advisors, Inc. (“UFA”) and Portland Family of Funds Holdings, Inc., (“PFF”) . Lozano led those teams in consulting on, or managing the structuring and closing of, urban real estate development transactions throughout the United States, with a combined total project cost in excess of $1.1 billion using new markets tax credits (“NMTC”) and additional tax-advantaged financing tools.
An affiliate formed through Lozano’s initiative, Portland New Markets Fund I, was one of 50 semi-finalists for the Innovations in Government Award, presented annually by the Ash Institute at Harvard University.
Sustainable Development
UFA and PFF were built on a foundation of sustainable development, well before the concept became mainstream. Under Lozano’s leadership, the firms assisted in the financing of over $650 million in green buildings from LEED Silver to Platinum. Chief among those greenbuilding accomplishments is the Gerding Theater at the Armory (formerly the Portland Armory, 1891), which is the first building on the National Register of Historic Places to have achieved a LEED Platinum rating from the US Green Building Council; the first Platinum building in Portland; and the first New Markets Tax Credits transaction to achieve Platinum. Also among those projects are 10 green projects comprising 15 buildings (1 LEED Platinum, 7 LEED Gold and 7 LEED Silver), with a Platinum-targeted LEED Interiors project pending approval from the US Green Building Council. For his vision and accomplishments in sustainable development, Lozano was named one of the 25 Green Building Leaders of the Northwest by Sustainable Industries Journal.
Historic Rehabilitation
While leading UFA and PFF, Mr. Lozano and his teams provided key financing for six major historic rehabilitation projects comprising 10 buildings built as early as 1872. Among these are the historic Blackstone Hotel (1910) in Chicago, Illinois; as well as the Portland Armory (1891), Smith Blocks (1872), Meier & Frank (1898) and the White Stag Project (1889, 1892 and 1907) in Portland, Oregon.
Community Benefits
All of these projects are estimated to generate more than 8,000 jobs and over $3.0 billion
in total direct, indirect and induced economic impacts during construction and the first 10 years of project operations. In addition to the statistic shown above, under Lozano’s leadership, the firms also consulted on the structuring and capitalization of approximately
$500.1 million in new investment funds, and have assisted other Community Development Entities in receiving $645.5 million in NMTC allocation.
BACKGROUND
Mr. Lozano has a broad real estate acquisition, development, finance, business, and legal background with more than 25 years experience in development, commercial real estate and tax law, large commercial lending transactions, business financing, and banking law.
He has built several organizations, including Portland Family of Funds and United Fund Advisors, from the ground up.
- From 2000 to 2004 he served as a Director of the Portland Development Commission.
- From 1995 to 2000 he served as CEO of Hanna-Sherman International, Inc.
- From 1991 to 1995 he served as President of Peoples National Mortgage in Dallas, Texas. Simultaneously, during this time he was a partner in the private equity firm of CoWest Capital in Dallas, Texas, which was formed with the former Deputy Director of the Resolution Trust Corporation and acquired numerous assets from the FDIC and RTC.
- From 1988 - 1992 Mr. Lozano was a partner of the Dallas, Texas law firm of Short, How, Lozano, Frels & Tredoux. From 1982 - 1988 he was a partner in the Dallas law firm of Rhode, Chapman, Ford and How and of the firm of Denton & Guinan.
EDUCATION AND AFFILIATIONS
- JD, Southern Methodist University School of Law
- BA, Political Science, University of Texas
- Member, Texas State Bar
- Licensed to practice before U.S. Tax Court
- Board of Directors of ecoAmerica , a non-profit organization dedicated to motivating Americans to create positive environmental change
- Board of Directors, Hayward Corporation , a leader in sustainable forestry.